Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that anyone found to have been complicit in torture must face the "full rule of the law", regardless of how "grand" they are.

He said the US report raised "extraordinarily troubling" questions about what happened in the days after 9/11.

He added: "If people are found to break the law, be complicit in torture, the full rule of the law should come down on them without fear or favour, however operational or grand they were."

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chair of the intelligence and security committee, yesterday insisted he and his colleagues would look into the matter "without fear or favour" and take advantage of new freedoms to demand evidence and call witnesses.

“It seems highly likely that the full report contains numerous references to the involvement of British intelligence officers, their superiors and even British politicians”

The calls come as it emerged today that The Home Secretary, Theresa May, will be questioned later over the UK's involvement in the torture of terror suspects following the exposure of brutal CIA interrogation methods.

Amnesty International UK spokesman Tom Davies said: "The Home Secretary needs to explain fully and frankly what information British officials tried to keep out of the public domain as they discussed the Senate committee's report on CIA torture.

"The Senate's executive summary report is of course only a fraction of the full 6,700-page report and it seems highly likely that the full report contains numerous references to the involvement of British intelligence officers, their superiors and even British politicians."

A spokesman for Mr Blair's office said: "For the avoidance of doubt, Tony Blair has always been opposed to the use of torture, has always said so publicly and privately, has never condoned its use and – as is shown by internal government documentation already made public – thinks it is totally unacceptable.

"He believes the fight against radical Islamism is a fight about values, and acting contrary to those values – as in the use of torture – is therefore not just wrong but counter-productive."